Why It Matters
Owners of new polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plants will no longer have to meet a federal limit on total wastewater pollutants, as the EPA eliminates a standard it previously established.
The final rule, effective Nov. 9, reverses part of a 2012 EPA standard. Owners and operators of new major-source PVC plants will no longer have to meet the wastewater limit for non-vinyl chloride organic hazardous air pollutants or its associated testing, monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting requirements. The existing vinyl chloride limit will instead serve as a surrogate for controlling those pollutants. The EPA calls the change a deregulatory action under Executive Order 14192, "Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation." It says the rule "focuses on the removal of a regulatory barrier for new major source PVC and copolymer production manufacturers" without increasing potential emissions of those pollutants from process wastewater at newly constructed plants.
Commenters on the 2020 proposal were divided. Opponents argued that failing to establish limits for pollutants other than vinyl chloride would be unlawful and that steam strippers best suited to removing vinyl chloride were not necessarily the best technology for removing other organic pollutants. Supporters argued that vinyl chloride is consistently present in the wastewater and that equipment controlling it also controls other pollutants.
The EPA responded that vinyl chloride is a valid surrogate and that 23 of 33 non-vinyl chloride organic pollutants share its removal value of 0.99. Olin Corporation contacted the EPA in January to express concern about the limit under the rule.
The Big Picture
The 2012 rule established a limit of 0.018 parts per million by weight for non-vinyl chloride organic hazardous air pollutants in process wastewater at new major sources. Under the revised regulation, new sources "are no longer required to comply" with that limit, and vinyl chloride serves as a surrogate for controlling those pollutants. Currently, 40 CFR 63.11880 ends at paragraph (c) and does not include paragraph (d). The final rule adds paragraph (d).
Several requirements remain in place: The vinyl chloride wastewater limit for new major sources remains 0.28 parts per million. For existing major sources, the limits remain 110 parts per million for non-vinyl chloride organic hazardous air pollutants and 6.8 parts per million for vinyl chloride. For area sources, the vinyl chloride wastewater limit remains 2.1 parts per million.
The EPA withdrew a similar limit for area sources in 2015 after agreeing with industry that it had relied on data from outside the PVC production category. The agency says the new major-source limit suffered from the same problem. It is not taking action on other provisions of its 2020 proposal, which it says it will address separately.
The EPA estimates that a future new major source would save approximately $2,900 in initial performance testing costs and $30,000 annually, in 2025 dollars, according to the agency's Nov. 4 statement. The agency says it is unaware of any new major source currently subject to the requirement or any ongoing reconstruction, and that the action has "no immediate cost or emissions impacts."
The Bottom Line
The change applies to new major-source PVC and copolymer production facilities that began construction or reconstruction after May 20, 2011. The revised requirements apply as of Nov. 9 or upon initial startup, whichever is later. Initial performance testing for applicable remaining standards is required within 180 days of the compliance date or startup, whichever is later.
Petitions for judicial review must be filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit by Jan. 8, 2027. The rule appears at 91 FR 70796 under docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0037.
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